Exercise Apparatus

ABSTRACT

An exercise apparatus for exercising the muscles of the human body required for running on a running surface, comprising a belt continuously circling over two deflection rollers rotatable about two mutually parallel axes in one direction, the running surface for exercising being allocated to the carrying side of the belt on the upper surface of the same facing away from the deflection rollers, is characterized in that at least one of the two deflection rollers has a drive controlled via a controller, that a load pick-up stationary with respect to the exercising apparatus is allocated to the lower surface of the carrying side of the belt facing the return side, that the belt has a thick, flexibly resilient, soft layer on its upper surface facing away from the deflection rollers, and that the running surface is allocated to the free outside thereof.

The invention relates to a known exercise apparatus of the generic kind according to the preamble of the main claim, that is, an exercise apparatus for exercising the muscles of the human body required for running on a running surface, comprising a belt continuously circling over two deflection rollers rotatable about two mutually parallel axes in one direction, the running surface for exercising being allocated to the carrying side on the upper surface of the belt facing away from the deflection rollers.

Exercise apparatuses are known in a variety of embodiments. However, mostly they have an electric drive such as, for example, a treadmill driven by an electric motor or an apparatus driven by muscular power.

A known exercise apparatus (DE 199 22 822 B4) comprises a belt divided in lamellae formed as cross struts which, although supposed to be flexibly deformable, nevertheless have to pick up the whole weight of the human body. Therefore, the known exercise apparatus is not able to simulate the sinking into sand or the like natural surfaces.

Therefore, the invention is based on the object of providing an exercise apparatus of the generic kind by means of which the sinking into sand or the like natural surfaces may be simulated in a simple manner.

Thus, according to the invention, this object is achieved by an exercise apparatus of the generic kind according to the preamble of the main claim by the characterizing features thereof in that at least one of the two deflection rollers has a drive controlled via a controller, that a load pick-up stationary with respect to the exercising apparatus is allocated to the lower surface of the carrying side of the belt facing the return side, that the belt has a thick, flexibly resilient, softlayer on its upper surface facing away from the deflection rollers, and that the running surface is allocated to the free outside of the belt.

Therefore, due to this inventive design of the exercise apparatus, the weight of the human body of the exercising person is accommodated by the load pick-up and deflected to the exercise apparatus. This, in turn, makes it possible to simulate a natural surface into which one may sink quickly and deeply by means of the continuously circling belt comprising the thick, flexibly resilient, soft layer which may be formed either as an air-filled volume or a flexibly soft plastic material so that at the beginning of the next step with this foot it will be necessary to firstly lift the same by the sunk-in degree to be even back at the level of the free outside. After that, the foot will have to be further lifted and put forward to complete the next step. During this process, by controlling the drive it is possible to adapt to the respective degree of fitness of the exercising person and/or the exercising goal.

The exercise apparatus according to the invention not only simulates the sinking into sand or the like natural surface but also requires a higher expenditure of power on the same track in the direction of the belt and/or exercises other muscle parts by the deep sinking and thus achieves a better exercising result.

It has been proven preferable if the thickness of the layer and/or the resilience of the layer of the exercise apparatus are dimensioned such that its thickness may be compressed by 40% to 95%, preferably 50% to 90% and particularly preferably by 60% to 80% upon being loaded with the human body.

According to a first embodiment of the exercise apparatus, which is not prone to failure and is inexpensive, the entire layer may be completely made of the plastic material while forming a belt. However, in an alternative embodiment thereto, it is also possible to allow higher speeds of the drive without annoying noise and excessive walking efforts if the layer has valleys or V-shaped grooves extending from the free outside of the drive in the direction of the upper surface of the belt while leaving bars extending parallel to the two axes of the rotatable deflection rollers and at an angle, preferably at an acute angle, to the direction with respect to the upper surface of the belt.

In order to protect at least the outside of the layer from damage or sweat, a preferably viscoplastic skin, which serves as the actual running surface, is allocated to the free outside of the plastic material.

Here, this skin may either be bonded substance-to-substance to the free outside of the plastic material or be a separate running surface belt overlying the free outside and circling together with the same.

In order to also simulate inclines as an exercising effect, at least one of the axes of the two deflection rollers may advantageously be formed such that it may be lifted or lowered perpendicular to its extension, for example, by means of an electrically driven threaded rod or the like.

Furthermore, the inventive controller of the exercise apparatus makes it conveniently possible to drive the drive in individually adjustable, alternating exercising micro intervals of various durations and subsequent recovery micro intervals in a manner that is faster or slower in comparison thereto, wherein the exercising micro intervals may be between 8 and 40 s, preferably between 9 and 35 s and particularly preferably between 10 and 30 s and the recovery micro intervals may be between 13 and 90 s, preferably between 14 and 75 s and particularly preferably between 15 and 60 s.

If the thick, flexibly resilient, soft layer is an air-filled volume, it is also possible to adjust its compression by the drive in a controlled manner, optionally in a changing way, so that it is also possible to artificially imitate the surface, for example, a hard, wet sandy soil like on the beach or a soft fir needle ground in the forest.

Thus, by using the inventive controller of the exercise apparatus it is possible to practically imitate any exercising ground including ascents and descents, exercising and recovery tracks and optionally comprising hard or soft grounds.

Further advantageous embodiments and developments of the invention are characterized in the remaining subclaims.

Below, an embodiment of the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a first embodiment of the exercise apparatus;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic section of the exercise apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a side view of a second embodiment of the exercise apparatus;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic section of the exercise apparatus of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 shows a side view of a third embodiment of the exercise apparatus; and

FIG. 6 shows a schematic section of the exercise apparatus of FIG. 5.

All three embodiments 10 of the invention are exercise apparatuses for exercising the muscles of the human body required for running on a running surface and comprise a belt 16 continuously circling in a direction 11 over two deflection rollers 14, 15 rotatable about two mutually parallel axes 12, 13 in the direction 11, the running surface 30 for exercising being allocated to the carrying side 161 of the belt 16 on the upper surface 163 of the same facing away from the deflection rollers 14, 15. This design is the same in all embodiments and therefore described in FIG. 1 only, just like a drive 18 controlled by a controller 17 is likewise only shown in FIG. 1 for the sake of clarity. For the rest, the same reference numerals are intended to denote the same parts.

A load pick-up 19 fixed to the housing and stationary with respect to the exercising apparatus 10, on which the carrying side 161 may rest and via which the force due to the weight of the human body in the form of the exercising person may be deflected, is allocated to the lower surface 164 of the carrying side 161 of the belt 16 facing the return side 162.

In order to also simulate inclines as an exercising effect, the one axis 13 of the deflection roller 15 is formed such that it may be lifted or lowered perpendicular to the extension of the axis by means of, for example, an electrically driven (40) threaded rod 41 or the like in accordance with the directional double arrow 42.

On its upper surface 163 facing away from the deflection rollers 14, 15, the belt 16 has a thick, flexibly resilient, soft layer 20, to the free outside of which the running surface 30 is allocated and which in all embodiments comprises a flexibly resilient, soft plastic material formed as foamed plastic material with open and (partly)/or closed pores in the form of polyurethane (PU), the layer having a thickness of 2 to 10 cm, preferably 2.5 to 8 cm and particularly preferably 1.5 to 6 cm, which, upon being loaded with the human body, is compressible by 40% to 95%, preferably by 50% to 90% and particularly preferably by 60% to 80%.

In this case, a skin 31 made to be viscoplastic and serving as the actual running surface 30 is allocated to the free outside of the layer 20 of the plastic material.

In the first embodiment the entire layer 20 is continuously and completely made of the plastic material while forming a belt (FIG. 2), the thickness of which is reduced in the region of the deflection rollers due to the reversal of direction. The skin 31 is bonded substance-to-substance to the free outside of the layer 20 of the plastic material, for example, by gluing or heat sealing or welding.

In the two other embodiments (second—FIG. 3—and third—FIG. 5—) of the exercise apparatus 10 the layer 20 has valleys 21 extending from the free outside thereof in the direction of the upper surface 163 of the belt 16 while leaving bars 22, the valleys 21 being narrow in contrast to the width of the bars 22 measured in the direction 10 of the circling belt 16, preferably narrower in contrast to the width of the bars measured in the direction of the circling belt 16 by a factor of 3 to 15, preferably 6 to 14 and particularly preferably 8 to 13. The valleys 21 extend parallel to the two axes 12, 13 of the rotatable deflection rollers 14, 15. Furthermore, in the embodiment as shown the valleys 21 extend at a right angle with respect to the upper surface 163 of the belt 16.

In the second embodiment (FIGS. 3 and 4) the skin 31 encloses each bar 22 and is also bonded substance-to-substance to the plastic material on each side of the valley 21 as in the first embodiment according to FIGS. 1 and 2.

In the third embodiment (FIGS. 5 and 6) a separate running surface belt 32 overlying the free outside of the layer 20 and circling together with the same is formed which is deflected via separate deflection rollers 33.

Using the exercise apparatus, it is possible to practically reproduce any exercising ground including ascents and descents as well as exercising and recovery tracks, optionally having hard and soft grounds, by means of the exercise apparatus according to the invention via the inventive controller 17 of the drive 18 and the possibility to lift or lower at least one of the axes 13 of the one deflection roller 15 perpendicular to its extension by means of the threaded rod 41 electrically driven by the control drive 40. 

1. An exercise apparatus for exercising the muscles of the human body required for running on a running surface comprising a belt continuously circling over two deflection rollers rotatable about two mutually parallel axes in one direction, the running surface for exercising being allocated to the carrying side of the belt on the upper surface of the same facing away from the deflection rollers, wherein: at least one of the two deflection rollers has a drive controlled via a controller, a load pick-up stationary with respect to the exercising apparatus is allocated to the lower surface of the carrying side of the belt facing the return side, the belt has a thick, flexibly resilient, soft layer on its upper surface facing away from the deflection rollers, and the running surface is allocated to the free outside thereof.
 2. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the layer has a flexibly resilient, soft plastic material.
 3. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plastic material is formed as foamed plastic material.
 4. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the foamed plastic material is formed with open and (partly)/or closed pores.
 5. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the foamed plastic material is polyurethane.
 6. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the layer has a thickness of 2 to 10 cm, preferably 2.5 to 8 cm and particularly preferably 1.5 to 6 cm.
 7. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the thickness of the layer, upon being loaded with the human body, is compressible by 40% to 95%, preferably by 50% to 90% and particularly preferably by 60% to 80%.
 8. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the entire layer is completely made of the plastic material while forming a belt layer.
 9. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the layer has valleys extending from the free outside thereof in the direction of the upper surface of the belt while leaving bars.
 10. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the valleys are narrow in contrast to the width of the bars measured in the direction of the circling belt.
 11. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the valleys are narrower in contrast to the width of the bars measured in the direction of the circling belt by a factor of 3 to 15, preferably 6 to 14 and particularly preferably 8 to
 13. 12. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the valleys extend parallel to the two axes of the rotatable deflection rollers.
 13. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the valleys extend at an angle with respect to the upper surface of the belt.
 14. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the valleys extend at a right angle with respect to the upper surface of the belt.
 15. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the valleys end at a distance from the two outer edges of the upper surface of the belt which are arranged in a spaced manner in extension of the axes of the deflection rollers.
 16. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein a skin serving as the actual running surface is allocated to the free outside of the plastic material.
 17. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the skin is made to be viscoplastic.
 18. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the skin is bonded substance-to-substance to the free outside of the plastic material or is formed as a separate running surface belt overlying the free outside and circling together with the same, which running surface belt is deflected via separate deflection rollers.
 19. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the axis of the two deflection rollers is formed such that it can be lifted or lowered perpendicular to its extension.
 20. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller drives the drive in individually adjustable, alternating exercising micro intervals of various durations and subsequent recovery micro intervals in a manner that is faster or slower in comparison thereto.
 21. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the exercising micro intervals are between 8 and 40 s, preferably between 9 and 35 s and particularly preferably between 10 and 30 s.
 22. The exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the recovery micro intervals are between 13 and 90 s, preferably between 14 and 75 s and particularly preferably between 15 and 60 s. 